Uchiha Reminiscent
by soggybizkit
Summary: Sasuke explains why he must go to Orochimaru. SasuSaku
1. Default Chapter

Uchiha Reminiscent  
  
Sasuke stopped abruptly. He planned to end this chase and reveal what he was planning to Naruto. He knew that the noisy shinobi was not far behind, and that it wouldn't take long.  
  
Naruto burst through the underbrush, screaming for Sasuke. He stopped mid- yell when he saw Sasuke standing in a clearing.  
  
"Why did you stop?" Naruto asked, perplexed.  
  
"To tell you why I'm doing this. You already know about Itachi, but he isn't the only reason I accepted Orochimaru's help. I'm going to kill him as well." Sasuke replied dryly.  
  
Naruto was completely taken aback. "I don't understand."  
  
"Orochimaru present's one of two threats to Konoha, the other being Itachi and his organisation. If Orochimaru is taken out of the equation, that leaves Konoha free to deal with the Akatsuki. I won't be able to defeat the entire organisation by myself, but with Konoha's sight's set on them, it will make getting to Itachi that much easier."  
  
"Sasuke, why go on with revenge? Kakashi-sensei told me about the lecture he gave you. Why do you continue? Don't you realise what you've got? Sakura- chan loves you. That must be more important than revenge. Don't you care about her?"  
  
'Yes, which is partly why I must go through with this,' he thought. "Sakura would be in danger if I got close to her. I care about the safety of my team."  
  
"I don't get it. Why would Sakura-chan be in danger?" Naruto stammered.  
  
"Itachi left me alive because he thought I was weak, and wanted to see how powerful I'll become. He has always thought that rage equals power. Don't you see? He will use you and Sakura, my only real... friends... to get to me. He wants you for some reason anyway. We know that because of the attack on you when you were training with Jiraya."  
  
"I guess that makes sense, but why won't you let people help. You and me, we could make a great team. We'd have a much better chance to beat Orochimaru," Naruto gave a wink and a thumbs up. Very Rock Lee.  
  
"Still the same Naruto, stupid as ever." Naruto gave Sasuke a glare for this, but was obviously eager to know what Sasuke was planning.  
  
Naruto waited in unusual silence.  
  
"If something happens to me, you'll be the only one who knows about this. You need to alert the village so they don't do anything stupid."  
  
"Let me go with you," he pleaded, "and your, Konoha's even, chances of success will much greater."  
  
"I can't let you. I'm taking a risk even talking to you without fighting. Orochimaru must not find out. Kill the Sound Four and the bone guy. Then go back to Konoha and notify the Fifth about my plans. I don't know how long it will take me to get powerful enough to accomplish this. You'll just have to trust me."  
  
Naruto hesitated, but Sasuke made sense.  
  
"Oh, and Naruto," Sasuke called, "tell Sakura things will be different when I return. Tell her I..."  
  
The look on Sasuke's usually stoic face told Naruto exactly what he was thinking.  
  
"Don't worry. I'll tell her."  
  
"Thanks Naruto. I want a rematch when I get back, so don't go getting yourself killed," Sasuke said, holding out his hand.  
  
Naruto accepted, gave his trademark grin and sped off.  
  
****  
  
Sasuke travelled for days, never knowing how far away Sound Country was, until he came to Orochimaru's... palace. The place was huge. He walked up to the gates and pushed on them. They opened easily with his new-found strength.  
  
"Ah, Uchiha Sasuke. Welcome to your new home," Orochimaru hissed as Sasuke entered the complex.  
  
'So far so good,' the avenger thought.  
  
"So, Sasuke-kun, you have decided to do the intelligent thing and come to me for power."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You have made the right decision. We will begin your training tonight. I assure you, training with me will, your power will increase exponentially."  
  
"That's what I'm counting on," Sasuke said with a smirk.  
  
****  
  
Naruto made his way back to where Lee had been fighting Kimmimaro. He was suprised to find that Lee had successfully defeated him, but even more odd was how Lee was acting. He was swaying back and forth singing "Whiskey in the Jar".  
  
"Naruto!" he yelled, "Welcome back. I've been having so much fun with my friend George that... that..." Lee slumped over, completely unconscious.  
  
Naruto sighed and picked both inert bodies up, hoping to find Shikamaru soon.  
  
And so he did. Shikamaru was slumped against a tree, completely out of breath. His opponent lay motionless a few feet away.  
  
"Hey Naruto. Where's Sasuke?"  
  
"I'll tell you when we get back to the village. I need to tell everyone at the same time. The Fifth really needs to know as well."  
  
Shikamaru gave Naruto a confused look, but decided it would be too troublesome to pry further. He trusted Naruto's judgement and wanted to see if Choji, Kiba and Neji were OK. He picked up his unconscious opponent and they began to search for the others.  
  
The first they came across was Kiba. He lay very near death with his dead opponent strewn across a rock. By this time, Lee was awake and sober, though with a slight hangover, and so was able to carry the body and provide a shoulder for Kiba to lean on as he walked.  
  
Neji was next. They found him stumbling back in the general direction of the village. He had a hole clear through one side, but his opponent was dead and gone. The group decided to bury the dead and relieve their burden. Shikamaru was still very worried about Choji, so they made it quick.  
  
When they finally came across Choji, he was in a critical condition. His heart had nearly stopped beating and his body looked as if it had had a great strain put upon it. They dumped his opponent in some bushes and quickly made their way back to Konoha.  
  
****  
  
Sasuke felt the worst he ever had. Orochimaru's training sessions were more than he had ever gone through before. He was using his chakra to walk on air. Air. This required a huge amount of chakra channelled into very small areas. This, unbeknownst to Sasuke, was an impossible task, but taught chakra control to no end. It pushed even his new-found power to its limit, and all he had to show for it was an exhausted body.  
  
"There's something that you should probably learn after this exercise," said Orochimaru.  
  
"And what would that be sensei?" Sasuke managed to say through clenched teeth.  
  
"You saw that I was able to summon a giant snake during the chuunin exam. I think you're powerful enough to do that yourself."  
  
Orochimaru produced a huge scroll and laid it out. A number of signatures were written in columns. They seemed to be scribed in... blood.  
  
"Go on, sign it," urged Orochimaru.  
  
Sasuke produced a kunai and cut a gash along his finger. When he was finished, Orochimaru rolled up the scroll replaced it.  
  
"OK, you're ready."  
  
****  
  
Naruto and the group arrived back Konoha with a warm welcome from the Fifth.  
  
"Where's Sasuke?" she said worryingly.  
  
"I need to talk to you about that Hokage-sama," Naruto replied.  
  
The Fifth saw to it that everyone who needed it got medical attention, and then proceeded to her office with the others. He explained the entire thing to her in all its detail.  
  
"Oh my God," was all she could say. "That boy is incredibly stupid and overconfident."  
  
"With all respect Hokage-sama, I have to disagree," said Naruto. "He's doing this for the good of everyone, not just himself. I think he's very brave to do this."  
  
The Fifth just stared at him for a few moments. "I suppose you're right in some ways. You should go inform Sakura."  
  
"I'll do that. Thanks Hokage-sama."  
  
Naruto left the building and headed towards Sakura's house. She was going to be so happy, but Naruto was still saddened. After all, he'd had a crush on her for so long now. Now that Sasuke practically admitted his feelings...  
  
He finally arrived and knocked at the door. Sakura answered, and was ecstatic at seeing him.  
  
"Is Sasuke-kun back?" she asked excitedly.  
  
"I need to talk to you about that," he said. Sakura's face drained of joy, and she invited him in.  
  
"OK," Naruto began, "Sasuke isn't with us." Sakura dropped her head. "Wait," he said, "he's OK. He chose to go on for reasons you might not expect." Naruto explained Sasuke's plan.  
  
"Oh my God," Sakura said, nearing tears.  
  
"There's one last thing. He says that the biggest reason for doing this, over his vengeance and protecting Konoha, is how much he cares for you." Stretching the truth a bit, but he knew what Sasuke had meant. Even if they didn't admit it, even to each other, they had a powerful friendship.  
  
Sakura stared, she didn't know how to react.  
  
"He says that if he's with you while Itachi and Orochimaru are both alive, you are just another target to get to him, and he doesn't want to see you hurt."  
  
Sakura got up and embraced Naruto.  
  
"Thank you Naruto," she said, crying freely now, "I know how hard that must have been for you."  
  
"Thanks." And with that, Naruto left.  
  
Sakura sat on her bead, gazing up at the ceiling. "I love you too, Sasuke- kun."  
  
****  
  
INTERLUDE  
  
4 years pass. Konoha hasn't been attacked and is in a time of peace. Naruto has become an Anbu along with Shikamaru, Neji and Lee, with Sakura and Shino becoming regular jounin. Everyone else in the "rookie 9" has reached chuunin level. Naruto has been training with Jiraya-sama all this time and has become far more powerful. However, we have learned the limit to his powers. His body can only hold so much of the Kyubi's chakra before pain racks him to the point where he can't move. His body is simply to small to hold all that chakra. This is why the more powerful the demon, the larger it is. Sakura has been trained by Tsunade-sama, learning the arts of gen- jutsu. She still harbours her feelings for Sasuke. Naruto and Hinata have finally got together.  
  
****  
  
Sasuke came running home from his day at the academy. Itachi had promised to play with him after school today. It would be a good evening. His father and mother would watch their children from their porch, they would be called in for dinner as night approached, their mother would scold them for getting so messy before dinner, but not really mean it... the way things always were. But as the young Uchiha arrived at the manor house it was battle cries that welcomed him, not warm greetings from the rest of his clan. He opened the door to find his father being suffocated by Itachi. His hand was clasped around his neck, choking his father. Itachi turned and saw Sasuke standing at the door. With a swift squeeze of his hand, his father's life came to an end. Sasuke couldn't move. He neither cried nor screamed, but only stood in shock at what his brother was doing. Itachi moved towards him, but still the young Uchiha stayed riveted to his position. Itachi knelt down in front of his younger brother and said, "Live a meaningless life, only going on to become stronger than me. Live to kill me." Sasuke looked into his brother's eyes. Lifeless, devoid of emotion. Sasuke reached down by his side and grabbed a kunai, making two swings at his brother's face, landing both symmetrically on either side of his nose, under his eyes. His brother could easily have stopped the assault, but let it go. "Do you feel it, the rage welling up inside of you?" He pointed to his bleeding face. "This is the beggining."  
  
Sasuke awoke drenched in sweat. Tonight was the night. He knew it. Orochimaru's relentless training and own determination had given him the power to accomplish his self-imposed mission.  
  
As he dressed he thought the entire plan out. Orochimaru occasionally held tournaments between his own pupils. A kind of perverted chuunin exam. In one of these completions, Sasuke had "accidentally" put a hole through Kabuto's abdomen. These were the risks taken when entering such events. So he didn't have to worry about him. He would carry Orochimaru's lifeless corpse out of the country with him. No one would dare challenge him after seeing their Kage dead in his arms.  
  
Sasuke made his way through the dark corridors to Orochimaru's room. He was going to confront him head on and prove to himself that he was capable. He was an avenger, not an assassin. Stupid pride.  
  
As he entered the training hall on his mini-trek, he heard a familiar voice in the shadows.  
  
"So, you finally make your move."  
  
"You knew?" Sasuke enquired, somehow not very suprised.  
  
"I knew it would happen one day."  
  
"Then why continue to train me?"  
  
"The potential you have was too good to pass up. Everyone sees me as a vengeful, disrespectful person, but I am a teacher first and foremost. You are the perfect student. A dark spirit with a noble cause. Brilliant. You are the reason I created this country and didn't just wander about like every other missing-nin. I want my pupils to become as powerful as possible to carry out my ambition. You are an experiment. I needed to know how my methods work on different varieties of people, and the only other person I know about who is like you, is me." He gave a soft chuckle. "I suppose testing myself comes into the equation as well. Can I defeat you after imparting some of my greatest techniques to you? I don't know. If I can't, then I will die. If I can, I will have the perfect body to hold my spirit."  
  
Orochimaru leapt at Sasuke with great speed, letting his foot fly ahead of him to hit his pupil in the head. What he met was a kunai through his foot. Orochimaru's body made a popping noise and disappeared in a puff of smoke, revealing a statue in its place. Sasuke activated his sharingan and spotted his sensei to his right. Using the great speed he acquired over these years, he sped towards Orochimaru and immediately engaged him in tai-jutsu. Orochimaru was no match in this department and leapt back, forming intricate hand seals. Two snakes emerged from his mouth and attacked Sasuke. Sasuke produced two kunai and stabbed the two snakes.  
  
The battle went on for hours with both student and master exhausting themselves.  
  
"It ends here!" Sasuke sneered. His hair began to grow and went white. Black marks snaked their way across his body. His left hand erupted with chakra and he charged toward his sensei.  
  
"Chidori!" he screamed. The sheer amount of chakra used was amazing. It was as if the fight had never taken place. The crackle of energy was far greater than ever before. Walls were torn down by the force of the technique.  
  
As Sasuke's fist entered Orochimaru's chest, he knew he had succeeded as a teacher. His pupil had exceeded him.  
  
"Congratulation Sasuke-sama," he managed to sputter as his back bulged and Sasuke's hand went through.  
  
Orochimaru slumped and fell, the gigantic hole in him bleeding profusely. Sasuke stood above him triumphant. He rested next to his former master's body for a few minutes. Orochimaru was evil, this was true, but who was he to judge. 'I shouldn't be second-guessing myself. This is the first step, I can finally be happy once I've completed my mission,' he reassured himself. He picked his former master up as one would a sleeping child, and started on the long trek home.  
  
****  
  
Naruto launched an attack at Jiraya, barely missing him. "You're getting slow in your old age erro-sennin!"  
  
"Shut up brat!" he fired back, hitting Naruto upside the head. "I've still got what it takes to bring an upstart like you dow-."  
  
They both searched the immediate area. "You feel that too erro-sennin?"  
  
"Yes. I've felt that kind of chakra in only two people before. That means that the village is under attack."  
  
The two shinobi rushed back to the main gate. 'An attack to the entrance?' Naruto thought. 'These guys are losing it.' They made their way up to the outer wall, hoping to suprise the mystery attacker.  
  
"Stop," Jiraya told the blonde shinobi.  
  
"Why why why? We gotta protect the village erro-sennin!"  
  
"Look."  
  
A guard called down from the huge gates, "State your name."  
  
"Uchiha, Sasuke."  
  
****  
  
Sasuke looked up at the familiar gates, feeling an odd sensation deep in his chest. 'Home?' he thought. 'Could that be the reason? No, since my clan was destroyed nowhere has really felt like home. Oh well, it should pass.'  
  
The mammoth gates slowly opened, revealing a village filled with memories, some better than others. Naruto and Jiraya were waiting for him when it opened.  
  
"You finally came back, eh? Miss me too much to stay with snake-freak?" Naruto asked.  
  
'Even after all these years he hasn't changed,' thought the young avenger. "Yeah, something like that," he replied with an unusual sense of humour brought to light at the sight of his old friend. A few medics came over to take the corpse off of him.  
  
"I can't believe it, he did it," Jiraya said under his breath. This generation of ninja was something to be feared.  
  
"Sorry Naruto, there's something I have to do." Sasuke sped off into the village. No explanation was necessary, Naruto knew exactly where he was going. 'She's been waiting so long,' he thought, 'You better make her happy Uchiha.'  
  
Sasuke arrived at the house. He looked up at it, wondering how he should approach this. 'She's been waiting for years... Why am I worrying about this?' Sasuke didn't have time to ponder over his feelings. The door creaked open, and our favourite pink-haired shinobi exited the threshold.  
  
She stood, not believing who was in front of her. The black-haired youth who she had longed for all her life. She had nearly given up hope over the years. He walked up to her, and in a very unlike-Sasuke manner, put his arms around her.  
  
"I've come back for you."  
  
Sakura didn't say anything for a while. She just let him hold her, a few stray tears rolling down her cheeks.  
  
'This is it,' he thought, 'the odd feeling I had earlier. I wanted to see her again.'  
  
She hadn't changed much. Sure, she had filled out and got taller, but she felt the same. The same Sakura who had saved him so many times. All these years in Orochimaru's country, it was Sakura above all else that had got him through. 'It should have been Itachi, but hate is not enough to sustain a person,' he mused, 'Love? Is that what this is? Is it the thing that helped me through the training?'  
  
Sakura pulled back and looked into the onyx eyes before her. "Welcome back."  
  
****  
  
The two had spent the day together in Sakura's home. She had rented the house from her parents when they decided to move, not wanting to let go of the memories within.  
  
"How could you take it? Four years of nothing but pain and torment, it must have been unbearable." She sat down on the sofa next to the onyx-eyed shinobi.  
  
"At times," he replied, "At first it was thoughts of revenge, but they soon became insubstantial." His eyes had glazed over and he was staring at the wall. "I needed something stronger to hold on to. I found out a lot of things about myself. It's amazing what you learn in solitude."  
  
"Like what? You've definitely changed. I expected you to go into solitude when you came back. To be traumatised or something. Naruto told me that..."  
  
'Ah.'  
  
"I learned that when I think about my clan, I only remember the night they were killed. Is that anyway to remember your parents, cousins, aunts, uncles...?" Sakura shook her head and scooted closer to the Uchiha. His speech was struggled, as if he were only just realising this himself. She had never heard him speak like this before. "Exactly," he continued. "I delved further, and chose to remember all the good times with my family. All those time sitting around the table at dinner, playing with my dad and how he would purposefully lose to me in our play fights... That is how my clan should be remembered. For all the good things they did, not the night of their slaughter. Realising this made a huge difference. It suddenly dawned on me that my clan wouldn't want to see me like how I was. Emotionless, cold... weak in some ways, just like Itachi. Our clan values family above everything else. People, myself included, look at power as something that people create by themselves. Alone. I was wrong. That it what made our clan so respected and powerful. We helped each other to become more powerful, through teaching, supporting one another. I was shutting the very essence of my family out. Not letting you into my life was the greatest disrespect I could have done to my clan, myself and most of all... you."  
  
"When did you know?" she tentatively asked.  
  
"The chuunin exam, after the curse seal took over," he replied, voice unwavering. He was certain. "I didn't get closer to you because I was afraid for your safety. Orochimaru was trying to get to me, and I didn't know what he'd do to people in his way. It gave me a kind of hurt I've never known before. I used to come and stand in front of your house late at night, wondering when it would be safe."  
  
He leaned down and ran his hands through a stunned Sakura's hair, pulling her face closer to his. "But I'm here now, my emotions no longer clouded by hate." Their lips met for the first time. When they finally pulled away, Sasuke made a mental note to remember the look on Sakura's face forever.  
  
She slipped her arms under Sasuke's, and let her head rest on his chest. Sasuke leaned down and whispered to her. She smiled and brought her mouth closer to his ear.  
  
"I love you too Sasuke-kun."  
  
****  
  
Sasuke had returned to his home after bidding Sakura goodnight, and promising to see her tommorow. He found it expectantly unchanged. He met with the Fifth and gave a full report of his mission. She made some joke about him being the most powerful genin ever. He didn't find it very funny. Warm as he might be to Sakura, his love didn't pass to anyone outside of his team. Sasuke was still Sasuke. However, she told him he needn't bother taking the chuunin exam again. It was quite obvious such a thing wasn't necessary. As much as he said he didn't care about rank, jounin had a nice ring to it.  
  
Sakura's mind was ablaze. The last few hours had been the happiest in her life. Sasuke was back, had finally acknowledged her and done so much more.  
  
'It was odd,' she thought, 'to see Sasuke open up like that.' Her training automatically kicked in when she saw him, and sensed his presence. The chakra was a mixture of 3 people. One she didn't know, Orochimaru and Sasuke himself. It was him though. There was no doubt. 'What am I doing here? I should be with him.' She got up and made her way to Sasuke's home.  
  
When she reached his apartment, night had fallen and mist had come in. She saw a figure walking away from his home. 'That's him.' She thought. Wanting to suprise him, she followed but didn't call out to her love.  
  
After 10 minutes or so, Sasuke stopped. She couldn't see what he was doing due to the mist. She came up to him, ready to pounce from behind, but stopped when she heard him begin to speak.  
  
"I'm sorry you never got to meet her," the dark haired warrior said to the gravestones he was staning in front of. "And I'm sorry you never got to meet them."  
  
Sakura looked at the back of his head. "You know?"  
  
"I sensed your presence a ways back. I didn't want to ruin your fun."  
  
She moved to his side and slid her arm around his back. He responded by going stiff for a moment and then relaxing.  
  
"Sorry. I'm still getting used to this." He put his arm around the shoulder and pulled her into him.  
  
"I didn't mean to intrude. If you want some time alone..." she trailed off.  
  
"No, I want you to stay. You'll never get to meet them in person. This is the best I can do." His words were sullen, filled with grief. "They would have loved you. Beautiful, devoted, strong, in body and will, intelligent..."  
  
Sakura smiled. Other people had said these things before, but when Sasuke told her, it was filled with a passion that belied his tone.  
  
"I came here to apologise to them," he continued. Sakura was taken aback.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"For only remembering their deaths, and not celebrating their lives." He looked up at the sky. "My clan would have wanted to be remembered for the powerful addition to this village that they were, not as the one that was wiped out by its prodigy."  
  
"What are you going to do about Itachi? Are you going to forgive him then?"  
  
"He will never be forgiven by me. I don't know what course of action to take now. The organisation he's in will probably make a move soon. I suppose I'll get my chance then. I hope you can understand Sakura. I love you and want to be happy with you, but he still haunts my dreams. I wake up in agony night after night. I have spent half my life working to become as powerful as he. I don't think I'm there yet. I am still an avenger though, and I must complete my quest. Please understand."  
  
She nodded, hugging him tighter and leaning her head on his shoulder.  
  
"Can I show you something?" he asked.  
  
"Of course."  
  
He led her through the mist. A large dark object loomed ahead. As they came closer she found it to be a house. When they reached the gates, she recognised the red and white symbol painted on it. The symbol of the Uchiha clan. It was their manor house. It could even give the Hyuga home a run for its money. Sakura looked up at it, astonished.  
  
"You lived here?"  
  
"Yes." He looked down at her.  
  
"Come on then," she exclaimed, tugging his arm. Sasuke inwardly smiled. No matter how much she changed on the outside, her personality was still the same. They entered through the main gates. The rusted hinges squeaked and groaned under the stress they had forgotten from lack of use. It had an odd smell, not just from the dust that covered it, it was something else. As they entered the main hall, it dawned on her. Blood.  
  
She looked over at Sasuke, but he remained emotionless on the exterior. She could tell that this was difficult for him. The hall itself was huge, It would have to be to fit the entire Uchiha clan. She estimated the entire manor to be about the size of a village block.  
  
They made their way to the middle of the room, wondering where to go next. Sasuke looked to the right and began to walk.  
  
"East wing, 7th room on the right," he said to himself. He stopped in front of a large oak door. Trembling, he turned the handle to reveal an average sized room that looked as though it belonged to an 8-year-old. Action figures were lined up in varying poses on a shelf, covered with dust. A quick slide of Sakura's hand along the bookcase revealed manga and jutsu guides.  
  
"This is your room isn't it?"  
  
Sasuke didn't say anything. He instead walked over to the bookcase where Sakura stood and picked up a frame. Wiping the glass with his hand, it revealed a family photo. Sasuke's parent's stood together in the back, both smiling. Itachi stood next to his mother, looking down at his little brother, who was doing his best tough guy pose. Sasuke wasn't sure whether to throw it across the room or laugh. He didn't get a chance to decide. Sakura took the picture from his hand.  
  
"You were cuter back then," she said teasingly.  
  
**** 


	2. Chapter 2

First off, thanks to Ashi-chan, Wyld Stallyns, Na-chanl and Saori-Hime for reviewing the fic. And Saori, thanks for pointing out the mistake. I guess dramatic irony got the better of me. T_T Anyway, the chapters are going to be shorter from now on, because I had been tinkering with the first one for a while before I finally put it up.  
  
One month later  
  
It was cold tonight. The wind whipped against Sasuke's exposed arms as he weaved around the trees in his path. The captain called for everyone to halt. The dark haired shinobi turned his head to see Naruto at his side. The Anbu uniform didn't really suit him. All that bright orange was gone, and this new, darker set of clothes didn't seem to reflect the young ninja's personality. Sasuke looked down at himself. Anbu.  
  
Flashback*  
  
Sasuke knocked and entered the Fifth's office without waiting for a reply. This was something Tsunade had come to expect, so she made sure to stay awake this time around.  
  
"Hello Sasuke."  
  
"Hokage-sama." 'Get on with it,' he thought. 'I have better things to do with my time and better people to be with.' He smirked. That was definitely a new feeling. Longing for something aside from revenge, and admitting to it. The Hokage noticed his expression.  
  
"What's with you?"  
  
"Nothing. Why did you call me in today Hokage-sama?"  
  
"Well, I've gone over your report a few times now." She pointed to a rather large stack of papers. "You killed at least two S-Rank criminals while you were away (Orochimaru and Kabuto). You've been back almost a month now and have taken on 12 B-Rank missions and 4 A-Rank alongside your former Team 7. This speaks volumes of your team's abilities. We want you to join the Anbu."  
  
"I'd need to discuss this with Sak-."  
  
"Sakura has given her blessings. I spoke to her earlier today in her training. You know, she's Anbu material herself, but needs to complete her gen-jutsu training..." she started to ramble.  
  
"In that case yes, Hokage-sama." No emotion was evident on his face, but Sasuke knew this would bring him closer to the Akatsuki. 'Am I afraid? Yes. Does that make me a coward?' He pondered this for a moment. 'No. Only a fool does not know fear. A warrior doesn't show it.'  
  
****  
  
The one they were hunting was next to him. He was a Mist hunter-nin gone missing-nin. Kind of ironic The Mist had weakened recently, and made an alliance with Konoha. Truth be told, they were just scared of Konoha's regained military prowess. If you can't beat them, join them.  
  
The shinobi made his move. He leapt off of the branch he'd been hiding behind and brought his sword down through Sasuke's back. After a puff of smoke he found that he had butchered a log... with an exploding tag on it. The swordsman couldn't get his sword out and threw it with the log still attached.  
  
"Kagemane no jutsu!"  
  
The rogue stiffened. A signal from Shikamaru told Sasuke that he had successfully completed the technique.  
  
"Sasuke, immobilise him," Shikamru called. Sasuke took hold of their blatantly frightened enemy. "Be careful with him. We're supposed to take him back in one piece."  
  
"Roger. I'd let go of his shadow if I were you," he called back.  
  
Shikamaru shrugged and released the missing-nin. Sasuke tripped him and firmly placed his foot on their captive's chest. He grabbed his leg and pushed it towards his head. After a few seconds of screaming, there came a sickening pop.  
  
"Ugh! What the hell Sasuke?! All you had to do was tie him up!" Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs.  
  
"We've been chasing him for two days. Dislocating his leg makes sure he can't get away," he turned to the whimpering ninja, "doesn't it?" The man nodded, scared of what else this monster might do.  
  
He was right. The trip to the Hidden Village of Mist was quiet indeed. The horrified man merely stared at Sasuke the entire time. He wouldn't let him have another chance to hurt him.  
  
The transaction was simple. Turn over the missing-nin and collect their payment. The squad made their way back to Konoha in the same day.  
  
****  
  
The sun had been up for 3 hours when they arrived at the village, making it about 9. Sasuke took off his mask and looked at it, reminiscing. The first major battle he fought was with Haku, who's mask looked exactly like his. In fact, Haku was the reason he chose this mask over all the others. Animal faces didn't really scream 'Sasuke' like a blank face did. It had been so long ago since that fight with Haku. He had died that day. He was resuscitated, but his life had ended for a short time. The only thought ringing in his head before he fell into blackness was how he had failed. Time changes everything.  
  
He need only look in a mirror to see that. The rounded features he had as a boy were gone, replaced with a generally sharpened face. Still, the fan girls didn't seem to mind. A group of four rounded the corner and saw their raven-haired idol. Shrieking with delight, they charged. Sasuke brought his head up and gave them the most horrifying glare recorded or no in shinobi history.  
  
"Grow up."  
  
He put his hands in his pockets, leaned his back a bit and was about to walk off when he spotted Sakura giggling at what she had just witnessed. She casually walked up to Sasuke and pulled him into a passionate kiss, making sure to keep one eye open to see the fan girls' reaction. She wasn't disappointed. Their faces dropped, one began to cry. As the two ended the session of tonsil hockey, Sasuke turned to face the fan girls, and smirked. He put his arm around Sakura and they walked away.  
  
"So, how did the mission go?"  
  
"It was a success."  
  
"Fair enough. Hey, do you want to come over tonight."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"OK, if I could expect you at about 8? That gives you ample training time, and I need to go train with Tsunade-sama."  
  
"That's fine." He kissed her forehead. "I'll see you then." And he was gone.  
  
'He's changed a lot since training with Orochimaru. All that time alone must give a massive amount of time to think about things. Even those things that didn't seem important before.' 


End file.
